ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A U.S. Department of Homeland Security team is in Maryland this week to evaluate the state’s election systems, after officials learned last month about a transaction between a venture fund with Russian ties and a company involved in the state’s election infrastructure.
Linda Lamone, Maryland’s elections administrator, said Tuesday that the Hunt and Incident Response Team is evaluating whether there are issues concerning ByteGrid, a U.S. company that hosts Maryland elections systems. ByteGrid was acquired in 2011 by AltPoint Capital, whose largest investor is a Russian oligarch.
Meanwhile, Maryland plans to spend about $7 million in federal grants for election security improvements. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission released a report Tuesday showing how states plan to spend $380 million to strengthen voting systems amid ongoing threats from Russia and others.
